Basler Brunsli (Swiss Chocolate Spice Cookies)

For the Dough

1. Place the chopped almonds and sugar in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles flour.
2. Add the chopped chocolate, cinnamon, and cloves. Pulse until the chocolate is finely ground and evenly distributed.
3. Add the egg and pulse until a dough ball forms.*
4. Remove the dough from the food processor, shape it into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for 1-2 hours, until firm.

Rolling and Drying

1. Sprinkle a large piece of parchment paper with sugar and transfer the dough to the paper. Press the dough to flatten it slightly and sprinkle the top with more sugar. Lay another piece of parchment paper over dough. (This is so your dough doesn’t stick to your rolling pin.)
2. Roll the dough to roughly an 1/8 inch thick.
3. Carefully, remove the top parchment paper and cut out cookies using your desired cookie cutter.
4. Place the cut cookies onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, spaced about 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps until all your dough has been used.
5. Place the cut out cookies on their baking trays (uncovered) in an out of the way place and leave the cookies to dry overnight.

Baking the Cookies

1. Preheat your oven to 300F.
2. Once preheated, bake the cookies 12-15 minutes, until slightly puffy.
3. When done, remove the cookies from the oven and dust them with granulated sugar. Let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 1 week.